Outline

After reading this post you will learn the following:-

  • Introduction
  • Other Names
  • Etiology
  • Clinical Features
  • Radiographic Features
  • Histopathologic Features
  • Treatment

Introduction

  • Unusual Type Of Tooth Resorption
  • Begins Centrally Within Tooth
  • Starts mostly by a peculiar inflammatory hyperplasia of pulp

Other Names

  • Pink Tooth Of Mummery
  • Chronic Perforating Hyperplasia Of Pulp
  • Internal Granuloma
  • Odontoclastoma

Etiology :-

  • Unknown
  • Sometimes presence of carious exposure and accompanying pulp exposure
  • Even possible that true internal resorption does not exist but is a result of resorption of tooth and invasion of the pulp by granulation tissue arising in periodontium

Clinical Features :-

  • Usually No Early Clinical Symptoms
  • First Evidence – Pink Hued Area On Crown Of tooth
  • When Resorption Begins in root – no significant clinical finding
  • Usually single tooth involved, multiple teeth involvement rare
  • Any tooth
  • Any jaw

Radiographic Features :-

  • Round/ovoid radiolucent area in central portion of tooth
  • This radiolucency associated with pulp but not external surface of tooth unless perforation due to long standing lesion

Histopathologic Features :-

  • Resorption of inner/pulpal surface of dentin
  • Proliferating pulpal tissue fills defect
  • Resorption – Irregular lacunar variety
  • Lacuna
  • Lacunae show osteoclast/odontoclast
  • Pulp shows chronic inflammation
  • Sometimes alternating resorption & repair – lacunae in dentin filled partially or completely with irregular dentin/osteodentin which itself undergoing resorption.
  • Crown - Dentin may be resorbed into narrow band followed by enamel.
  • Root – Resorption of dentin followed by cementum, if left untreated may result in separation of tooth from apical portion

Treatment :-

  • RCT successful if condition discovered before crown/root perforation
  • Extraction – If perforation Occurred
  • Sometimes it will suddenly regress i.e. there will be no progress or repair by deposition of calcified tissue.

References :-

  • Shafer’s Textbook Of Oral Pathology
  • Neville – Oral & Maxillofacial Pathology